Quebec imposes measures to address ‘toxic climate’ at Montreal school [Video]

Quebec’s Education Department appointed two monitors at Bedford school in Montreal’s Côte-des-Neiges district to address a “toxic climate” of fear and intimidation at the primary school.

The new monitors started working Tuesday and will have to report back to the education department by Nov. 30.

The province’s measures follow a report made public last week concluding that a “dominant clan” of teachers imposed a stringent, autocratic rule over students and intimidated and ostracized anyone who opposed them.

The government’s report said children were subjected to physical and psychological violence and that teachers refused to teach or paid little attention to subjects such as oral communication, science, religion and sex education. It also said teachers refused to allow children with special needs to get help from specialized professionals as learning difficulties and autism didn’t exist for some teachers.

“The evidence gathered tends to show that some teachers at Bedford school would …